I had a very disappointing interview experience with Align Technologies for a Software Engineering Manager position. The process dragged on for close to a month, and despite completing multiple rounds—including initial screening, L1 Technical, L2 Technical, and L3 Managerial—I never received any feedback.
When I reached out to the HR team about the delay, the only response I got was that they were still interviewing more candidates for the final round. This made me feel as if I was being treated as just an option while they decided between candidates, as if they were simply comparing apple vs orange, rather than being valued for the time and effort I had invested in the process.
It is highly unprofessional to leave candidates in the dark after they’ve invested significant time and effort to go through multiple rounds. If the company is not interested in moving forward, the least they can do is provide honest and timely feedback. That is the minimum level of professionalism candidates expect, especially after making it to the final rounds.